People get fed up with court proceedings, process becomes punishment: CJI

Marking its 75th year, the Supreme Court kicked off a week-long, first-of-its-kind Lok Adalat on Monday as a “mega settlement drive”.

“We began with seven benches (and) we were worried whether there would be enough work. But by Thursday, there was so much work… that we needed 13 benches to operate this Lok Adalat,” the CJI said.

“So many people ask me why does the Supreme Court have to deal with such small cases? What is the purpose? Is this the purpose of the Supreme Court? And I always respond by saying that when the Constitution was framed by stalwarts like B R Ambedkar, they did it with a mission. They introduced Article 136 into the Constitution for the purpose… that this was a court which was being set up in an essentially poor society where there was an absence of access to justice. We operated in colonial structures of patriarchy, oppression, caste, discrimination, and the idea behind creating this institution which would reach out to people was to ensure that this would not be one of those courts like the American Supreme Court, which deals with 180 constitutional cases, but a court which would truly be a court reaching out to the lives of common citizens,” the CJI said.

“And the purpose of our Adalat has been truly to take justice to the homes of the people, to ensure that we remind people that we are a constant presence in their lives,” he said. “The work of this Lok Adalat was also facilitated by what the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) does. In 2023, NALSA resolved as many as 8.1 crore cases,” the CJI said.

“This Lok Adalat was just a reminder that though we are at the apex of the Indian judicial system, we are, in that sense, so closely and deeply associated with the lives of our citizens,” he said, as he expressed hope of “institutionalising this process of dispensing justice through Lok Adalats”.

“It’s been one of my initiatives that whatever we do as a Court must be institutional. It shouldn’t be just that one-off initiative, which is then forgotten for the future unless… 15 years later, somebody else picks it up. We ensure that it becomes a part of our processes and systems,” he said.

“Institutions are very slow to change, and I have realised that because very often when I want to bring about a change, I have 10 different reasons why it can’t be done. And I always respond by saying, I will give you one reason why it can be done,” he said. “So while institutions are very slow to change, the positive aspect… is that once you bring about a change, it doesn’t get lost forever,” the CJI said.

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and some Supreme Court Judges were among those who attended the event.

Explaining the absence of some Judges, the CJI referred to criticism about the working hours of Judges. “Another thing which is lost to civil society is, they feel that Judges get up at 4 pm, and there is nothing else to do. The work of a Judge really begins at 4 pm. That’s when we start the hard work of reading for the next day, preparing judgments. During the weekends, Judges are travelling, reaching out to society, reaching out in legal aid camps, reaching out in colleges,” he said.